Balanced, Protected, and Informed O&M for Active Daily Living

Touch is the sense that blind children use to learn about their world. Blindness/mobility visual impairment accesses same information through touch. And when we don't extend their touch, we risk underestimating what they can truly do.

The grant award will help Safe Toddles place mobility tools directly into the hands of children aged 10 months and older. It will also support training so each recipient has help learning how the Belt Cane fits into daily movement, exploration, and safe travel.

A blind toddler may walk quickly to a couch, wall, or helping hand and still be delayed in independent mobility. Our new YouTube video helps parents and professionals look beyond speed and recognize when a child is missing the information needed to move safely through open space.

And if you work with blind babies and toddlers, you need to know what this means. There is something buried in the newest edition of Foundations of Orientation and Mobility that parents of blind children—and the professionals serving them—should pay attention to. Mobility tools made easy for blind kids are used in more places. The 4th edition of Foundations of Orientation and Mobility, published in 2024, is presented as a major professional reference for O&M students and prac

The first article in “The Cost of Waiting,” a series examining what happens when we fail to invest in appropriate mobility technology for young children with a mobility visual impairment or blindness.

When deciding whether a blind child needs a mobility device, are we asking the right questions? A clearer developmental framework starts with the child's need for protection and environmental information—not motivation, cane failure, social acceptability, or other unnecessary barriers.

The narrative that blind toddlers are lacking sensory information needed to entice them to walk is true. But it can't be vision...they don't know what sight is. Blind toddlers know and love touch feedback, and the cane frame allows them to claim the space ahead of themselves and use tactile signals from the cane frame to move with self-reliance.

The cane frame is obvious for a reason. The See My Cane Frame campaign helps sighted people understand why visible Belt Canes give blind children clearer next-step confidence, protected personal space, and pride in moving independently.

How a grant from the Gibney Family Foundation helped Safe Toddles build a more stable Belt Cane frame for older children and young people who need extended touch feedback to walk independently because they are blind or mobility visually impaired. For Safe Toddles, that question became a challenge we were determined to solve. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Gibney Family Foundation, Safe Toddles was able to bring together engineers, researchers, students, staff, and volunte

Why wait for a young blind child to master a handheld cane? Learn how the Belt Cane provides body-centered tactile feedback while children are learning to walk and explore independently.

The Belt Cane’s rectangular frame protects the space directly in front of a blind child before the child’s body enters it. This protected next step can change mobility from hand-holding and collisions to safer, more confident independent movement.

Use one short summer video to document your blind child’s O&M skills, show how the Belt Cane supports safer travel, and ask your IEP or IFSP team to put assistive technology, training, and measurable mobility goals in writing.

Safe Toddles is pleased to announce a $17,500 grant from the Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation to advance Phase III of the Blind Baby Safe Mobility Program. Building on the Foundation's continued support, this next phase will help professionals navigate insurance, IEP, and IFSP systems to secure access to Pediatric Belt Canes and advocate for children to have consistent access to their mobility devices throughout daily life, including school, sports, recreation, and community ac

Independent mobility is not learned in a single lesson. It grows through everyday experience: every playground visited, every restaurant explored, every family outing, and every walk around the neighborhood. When children with an MVI/B trust the information provided through extended touch feedback of the Belt Cane, they gain more than mobility. They gain confidence, connection, and the freedom to belong.

Extended touch feedback gives blind children the confidence to navigate school independently. Learn simple summer activities that prepare your child to wear a Pediatric Belt Cane throughout the school day.

Preparing your blind child for the first day of school starts long before the school bell rings. Discover fun summer activities that build independent mobility, confidence, and school readiness through extended touch feedback with the Pediatric Belt Cane.

Is your blind child ready for school? Discover the self-advocacy, mobility, and motor skills children should practice before the first day of school to build confidence, independence, and successful participation in the classroom.

Freedom means having room to move. Learn how the Pediatric Belt Cane gives blind children the touch information they need for safe, independent mobility.

Summer gives children endless chances to practice social skills at playgrounds, splash pads, family gatherings, camps, and neighborhood playdates. One of the earliest social skills children learn in these moments is personal space: how close to stand, when to move closer, and when to step back. Personal space through mobility tools for social engagement is rarely discussed but incredibly important part of participating alongside your peers, not physically touching—alongside.

Every child deserves the freedom to explore. Read Wesley's inspiring story and discover how mobility support helped a blind toddler move toward people, play, and independence.